England survive AGAIN

Saka bails out The Three Lions and perfect penalties sends them through

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They couldn’t do it again, could they? England found themselves down 1-0 to Switzerland with 15 minutes to go after Embolo’s goal. Then England went into panic mode. Southgate made subs (Shaw, Eze, and Palmer) and England started attacking. Just like against Slovakia they through the kitchen sink forward after struggling for most of the match. Yet they couldn’t get the ball over the line. That was until Bukayo Saka cut in and hit a left footed strike across goal in off the post 5 minutes later. The stadium and most of England erupted. The star boy had done it. Switzerland would miss a couple shots in the next 10 minutes. So we were headed for extra time, again. Nothing really happened as both teams really played to not lose the game rather than winning it. One error could make all the difference and it nearly did as Shaqiri took a corner that almost caught Pickford at the back post and hit the crossbar. England were inches from going out on a brialliant “Olimpico” goal. Southagte brought on Trent and Ivan Toney in preparation for penalties. Prior to this England had won 4 of 11 penalty shootouts since 1990 at major tournaments.

Palmer stepped up first and calmly placed the ball into the bottom left corner. Pickford then saved Akanji’s poor penalty. Bellingham netted as did Schar. Saka then scored in a feel good moment, after his infamous miss in the Euro 2020 shootout. Shaqiri then drilled it past Pickford in the bottom right corner. Then Ivan Toney calms slotted it home without even looking at the ball! He put it away as he looked at the keeper, the nerves. Amdouni then put it down the middle and converted for the Swiss. Trent came up with a chance to win the game. You could feel the tension. The Liverpool right back turned England midfielder drilled the ball to the left sending Sommer the wrong way. They had done it. Another subpar performance and another win.

For England it was different yet much of the same. Gareth Southgate made only one change to the starting line-up and it was an enforced one, Ezri Konsa in for the suspended Marc Guéhi. However, there was another change, the formation.

Kane

Foden Bellingham

Trippier Rice Mainoo Saka

Konsa Stones Walker

Pickford

Saka lined up at right wing back whilst Trippier retained his place but at a now more advanced left wing back. There had been leaks of this beforehand though the expectation was that Saka would start on the left-hand side. It really didn’t change much though, in fact it just meant Saka was picking up the ball further back but that would be a positive due to his impact. The change also looked to take Foden off the left wing and get him more involved centrally and there were moments but again as it has been for much of the tournament it was just a few moments where he looked a threat before fading. The formation was reminiscent of the one that brought against Germany at Euro 2020 and Southgate used it in the final versus Italy. A combination of Sterling, Saka or Mount played off Kane but one thing they did well that summer was they got into the box to support Kane. Sterling scored 3 times that tournament and would’ve had a fourth before Kjær turned it into his own net. We have only seen Bellingham get into the box alongside Kane this summer and we haven’t seen it enough. Each game that comes gets tougher and you wonder how much more England can get away with. It has taken a bit of magic in both games to just force extra time and I don’t see Netherlands being as forgiving as Switzerland and Slovakia. England have now played 60 minutes more than their semi-final opponents and again will be asked to put on an improved performance which they are yet to deliver.

Three Takeaways

Starboy Shines

Bukayo Saka was brilliant for England in the quarterfinals. There had been some talk that he could be dropped in this new formation or be deployed at left wingback. However he showed why he deserves to be in the team in every single game they play. The Arsenal winger was excellent as he was explosive down the right for the full 120 minute. He actually provided a direct threat, something England have lacked so far in this tournament. The winger took on Swiss defenders and was successful creating crosses and cutback opportunities. His goal perfectly reflects his performance on the day. He beat a defender quickly and was direct and finished it off with a brilliant strike. Things didn’t get much better for England in the quarters but Saka sure did. Without this performance they could be going home. That was how good he was in the match. I saw somewhere that England don’t need to play well because they have stars and stars create moments of magic. First it was Bellingham and now it is Saka. Whatever you think of England’s performance you can’t deny that Saka was brilliant.

Southgate Clueless?

Southgate has no idea what he is doing! This has been the cry of England fans for some time now. Whether it be putting Trent in midfield, playing four right footed defenders, or the bizarre Kalvin Phillips comments. It seems that the England manager is lost. The Switzerland game was yet another quintessential example of this. Southgate only made changes later on when England went down 1-0. He yet again shifted to an attacking game plan with no real direction. Good and great managers make changes before something goes wrong. While England looked better they yet again had to depend on their stars to bail them out. Without Kane, Bellingham, and Saka who knows where this team would be. I am convinced that Southgate wouldn’t last a season at a top English club. He lacks the tactical knowledge, fails to adapt to the game as it happens, and can’t seem to get the best out of his stars. Other than scoring a couple goals, what has Harry Kane done all tournament?

Perfect Penalties

Despite England being poor on the day yet again (with the exception of Saka) they got it done on penalties. It is often said that penalty shootouts are a psychological battle rather than a physical one. The amount of pressure these players feel is absurd. Especially in England with the media covering every little thing they do. Not only this but England have also been historically been bad on penalties. Yet England deserve credit, all five players walked up and confidently converted their penalties. Technically the penalties were brilliant and psychologically the players seemed confident. While this doesn’t mean England will all of a sudden click on, it shows some resilience and ability to cope with pressure some things this England team have been criticized of. The penalty shootout win can help build up the players and manager’s confidence, something they have lacked in this tournament.

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